Tangled (Nalu au)
by Blossom cat
Summary: This is basically the whole 2010 movie "Tangled" but as a Nalu story. Some things such as songs and little moments were changed to fit the story better, but that's about it.


**I absolutely live for the tangled au of anything! I've seen some art of tangled Nalu, but I've tried to find some fanfiction of it, but I could never find any. So, I decided to just write one myself. Not sure if I'll split it all up in chapters or have just one really long one-shot version. I'm thinking more of the latter. Anyway, I really hope all of you enjoy this, I know I'll really enjoy writing it. I'll have to change up some of the words in the songs though so that it fits the story.**

 **Disclaimer- The songs used and the movie Tangled does not belong to me**

* * *

 _This is the story of how I died._

 _Don't worry, this is actually a very fun story. Well, it isn't even mine, this is the story of a girl named, Lucy. It starts with the sun. Once upon a time, a drop of sunlight fell from the sky. It had fallen to the ground and created a flower. A powerful flower that could heal the sick and injured._

 _A man, a man of no good wanted to take this flower. But we'll get back to him later. Anyway, a queen of the name of Layla and her husband king Jude Heartfilia had raised up a village and they lived in a huge castle. But the queen fell ill, very ill. The king had heard of the magic flower and ordered their guards to take it to save his wife._

 _The old man had hid it well, but had made a mistake along the way which had ultimately saved queen Layla. You see, this man wanted to harness the power for himself to stay young and all he had to do was sing a special little song._

 _Flower gleam and glow_

 _Let your power shine_

 _Make the clock reverse_

 _Bring back what once was mine_

 _What once was mine_

 _You get the jist. The man would sing this and turn younger, creepy i know. Well, the flower was taken to heal the queen and thus a healthy baby girl was born. You probably already know who I'm talking about, that's right, Lucy Heartfilia. She was absolutely beautiful, her golden hair shimmering._

 _But that old man wanted to take it. He had found out where baby Lucy was and tried to cut her hair, but it only turned brown and never grew again. The man stole Lucy and took her away and just like that she was gone._

 _Every royal guard went looking for her. Everyone searched and searched, but she was no where to be found. Little did they know, she was taken to a hidden tower deep within the forest. The old man took care of her while she stayed there, making sure to keep her there so that he could stay young forever._

 _This man's name was Jose._

"-let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine...what once was mine." The little girl paused as her father combed her hair. "Daddy? Why can't I go outside?" The man only frowned and stopped brushing her hair.

"The world is a dangerous place, my child. You must never leave this tower." Little Lucy stiffened at his stern voice. She then slumped slightly and nodded.

"Yes father."

...

She woke up to sounds of birds chirping. She made sure to stretch as well as she could before sitting up, scratching her back. Looking around, she found her blue little cat lying down beside her. He always looked so peaceful. She giggled as he stirred and finally opened one eye.

"Morning Happy." The small blue cat yawned and purred, rubbing up against her arm like he did every morning.

"Morning Lucy. Did you sleep well?" Lucy nodded and picked him up, setting him down on the floor. She quickly changed into the dress she always wore. It was pink with slightly puffy stripped sleeves while she had sheer sleeves with lace embroidery edging on the sleeves. At her torso held a multi corset panel with lacing, the rest of the dress flowed down beautifully while panels filled the flow. She grinned and spun around.

"How do I look?" She puffed out her well endowed chest to sell her look better. Happy just laughed at her and waved a paw dismissingly.

"Like you always do, you're so weird Lucy." She then huffed and crossed her arms in a pout. She then grinned and turned to her small cat on the floor. "Ready?" Instantly knowing what she meant, happy smirked excitingly.

"Yup, I'll hide and you find." Happy flapped his wings and zoomed away, giving Lucy the cue to start counting. They did hide and seek often, having almost done everything around the tower. She knew every crook and cranny of this tower so it never took her long to find happy. After finally making it to ten she looked around the room.

She first checked under the bed. Nope, not there. She looked inside the closet, not there either. She then heard a noise from outside her window. Feeling a smile creep up on her face, she slowly opened the window and looked around. She noticed the tail sticking out from behind the flower pot and she smiled.

"Well, he isn't here..." She whistled Innocently and walked away. She heard a small snicker before she jumped out and grabbed happy, making him squawk out of surprise. Happy noticed it was just her and pouted while crossing his arms.

"No fair!"

"It is fair, happy. I win!" She grinned and set him down on her bed. She then sighed and plopped down on her bed. Happy clasped his hands in his lap and gave her a look of worry. One that she didn't notice right away. Happy always knew how Lucy felt. Like a caged bird, wanting to get out and explore the open world.

"What's wrong...you want to leave don't you? Lucy, why don't we? Just leave. It'll be so easy to just step outside." Lucy gave happy a look that he couldn't quite place.

"You and I both know that isn't an option. Father wouldn't be happy and I would feel horrible for just getting up and walking away." Lucy eyed him for a moment before smiling brightly. It didn't quite reach her eyes though. "And besides, I have tons of things to do here!"

 _"Seven AM, the usual morning line-up_  
 _Start on the chores and sweep till the floor's all clean_  
 _Polish and wax, do laundry and mop and shine up_  
 _Sweep again, and by then, it's like seven fifteen_

 _And so I'll read a book, or maybe two or three_  
 _I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery_  
 _I'll play guitar and knit and cook and basically_  
 _Just wonder when will my life begin?_

 _Then after lunch, it's puzzles and darts and baking_  
 _Paper-mache, a bit of ballet and chess_  
 _Pottery and ventriloquy, candle-making_  
 _Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch_  
 _Take a climb, sew a dress_

 _And I'll re-read the books, if I have time to spare_  
 _I'll paint the wall some more, I'm sure there's room somewhere_  
 _And then I'll brush and brush and brush and brush my hair_  
 _Stuck in the same place I've always been_  
 _And I'll keep wondering, and wondering, and wondering, and wondering_  
 _When will my life begin?_

 _Tomorrow night, the lights will appear_  
 _Just like they do on my birthday each year_  
 _What is it like out there where they glow?_  
 _Now that I'm older, father might just let me go"_

Lucy stared up at the sky longingly. Her birthday was only one day away and this time, she wanted to see the floating lights up close. She rubbed her arm, nervous about asking her father about seeing the floating lights. He was always against her stepping out of the tower.

 _Did I not mention this earlier? Well, every year on Lucy's birthday, the king and queen would release thousands of floating lights in hopes of getting day their daughter would find her way home._

"Lucy!" A deep voice was heard from way below on the ground. Lucy blinked down and saw her father standing below her, a smile plastered across his face. "Let down your hair!" Lucy smiled and nodded, throwing her hair around a hook and dropping it down. Her father curled it and stepped on it, while Lucy heaved him up to window.

Once he stepped through the window, Lucy ran to him with a hug. "It's good to see you father!" Her father, Jose, dropped his smile and just pat her head. Meanwhile, glaring at happy who ran under the bed to seek comfort. Happy knew that jose was against his very being.

"Yes, it's nice to see you as well." Lucy let go of him and watched as he made his way to her whole body mirror. He checked his hands and his face and sighed.

"Uhm, father...I wanted to ask you some-"

"Oh Lucy, I'm feeling old. Why don't you sing for me." He interrupted her. Lucy just ran off and grabbed a stool and placed it in front of Jose's chair. She pushed him into it and handed him a brush. She placed her hair in his lap and sat down quickly.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mind, what once was mine." She sang swiftly, making her hair glow for only a second before releasing power at incredible speed and making Jose's wrinkles disappear. During then, Jose was quickly brushing her hair and was shocked when her hair's magic sprang up into his face.

"Lucy!"

"Father!" Lucy stood up and grabbed his shoulders. He gave her a wide eyed look and watched as she struggled to get out the words. She mumbled something which had him frowning.

"Lucy, what have i told you about the mumbling. Blah blah blah- oh I'm just teasing. Stop taking everything so seriously." He said after noticing her sad frown. She chuckled awkwardly and watched him get up and bring her towards the mirror. "You know what I see? A beautiful young person that has so much going for them," Lucy smiled widely. "Oh, you're here too."

"Heh" She stopped smiling immediately and just scratched the back of her head as she felt her nervousness spike up.

"Oh I'm just kidding." Lucy shook her head, silently telling him she understood it was a joke. Lucy turned and faced him with a serious expression on her face. Jose stopped his teasing and waited for her to talk to him.

"Father...I...I would like to see the floating lights. They always float everyday on my birthday and I thought I could see them up close for my birthday present." She grabbed onto the curtain and pulled it back, revealing a picture she painted on the wall of the lanterns. Jose furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.

"You mean the stars?"

"But that's the thing! I've studied the stars, but these are the different. They only appear on my birthday." Lucy waited for his answer and saw him give her a look of suspicion. She knew she wasn't going to like what he was going to say next.

"So, you want to leave the tower?" She winced at the venom laced within his words.

"Yes, but only for a day!" Jose sighed and grabbed her by the hand and brought her close. Making sure that she understood just how serious he was about this subject.

 _"You want to go outside? Why, Lucy..!_

 _Look_ _at you, as fragile as a flower_

 _Still a little sapling, just a sprout_

 _You know why we stay up in this tower"_

 _"I know but..."_

 _"That's right, to keep you safe and sound, dear_

 _Guess I always knew this day was coming_

 _Knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest_

 _Soon_ _but not yet"_

 _"But -"_

 _"Shh! Trust_ _me, pet_

 _Father knows best_

 _Father knows best_

 _Listen to your father_

 _It's a scary world out there_

 _Father knows best_

 _One way or another_

 _Something will go wrong, I swear_

 _Ruffians, thugs_

 _Poison ivy, quicksand_

 _Cannibals and snakes_

 _The plague"_

 _"No!"_

 _"Yes!"_

 _"But -"_

 _"Also large bugs_

 _Men with pointy teeth, and_

 _Stop, no more, you'll just upset me_

 _Father's right here_

 _Father will protect you_

 _Darling, here's what I suggest_

 _Skip the drama_

 _Stay with papa_

 _Papa knows best_

 _Father knows best_

 _Take it from your father_

 _On your own, you won't survive_

 _Sloppy, underdressed_

 _Immature, clumsy_

 _Please, they'll eat you up alive_

 _Gullible, naÎve_

 _Positively grubby_

 _Ditzy and a bit, well, hmm vague_

 _Plus, I believe_

 _Gettin' kinda chubby_

 _I'm just saying 'cause I wuv you_

 _Father understands_

 _Father's here to help you_

 _All I have is one request"_

"Yes?"

"Don't ever ask to leave this tower again." He glared at her and she felt herself shrink under his intense gaze. She had no choice but to agree to his terms.

"Yes, Father"

"I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more."

"I love you most. Don't forget it.

 _You'll regret it_

 _Father knows best"_ Lucy got out of the hug he forced her into and just looked away from him. She was still incredibly upset he still, after all these years, would not let her leave this goddamn tower. She absolutely hated it here.

"Okay, but I have only one request." She gave him her hopeful smile and he signaled for her to go one. She reel a breath she didn't even know she was holding and showed him a box with all her art and writing supplies. "I need some more paint and paper. For my writing." Jose groaned and sat down, rubbing his temples.

"That's a three day walk and I've just gotten back." She shut her box and put it away.

"I just thought...this would make up for not seeing the lights," She noticed his glare at her choice of words. "I mean stars." Jose then smiled and stood again.

"Alright, I'll go back and get you some supplies. I'll even pick up some food on the way." He kissed her forehead and got ready. Lucy lowered him down with her own hair and waved him goodbye. "I'll be back in three days time. I love you." She nodded.

"I love you more."

"I love you most." She watched him walk away and through the huge vines that hid the tower. She clapped her hands, a signal for happy to come out and keep her company. Happy crawled out and looked around.

"Is he...is he gone?" Lucy giggled and smiled. She gently picked him up with a nod. She had always known happy felt something off about her father but she always dismissed him, thinking it was just Happy's paranoia.

"Yeah, he'll be back in three days. Happy, if it weren't for you, i don't know how I'd stay sane." Happy flew around the room excitedly which got Lucy to laugh.

"Aye sir, where would you be without me?"

...

Meanwhile, three men were on a hot pursuit for the princess's satchel guarded in the castle. One of those men was the famous salamander. He was famous for his treasure hunting skill, and every royal guard was in search for this man. He and two other men, known as the twin dragons were working together to take the crown for themselves and sell it for a high price.

Their names were Sting and Rogue. The salamander knew they didn't trust one hair on his head and he also knew that was probably a smart choice. He wouldn't trust him either. Salamander sniffed the air and looked upon the scenery on top of the castle.

"Ah, I could get used to a view like this," He paused and turned to Sting and Rogue. "It's settled. I'm going to get myself a castle. What do you guys think?" Rouge just scoffed and glared daggers at the Salamander.

"I think we should get going before I have your head on a silver platter." Salamander held up his arms in surrender and ran off. Sting and Rogue followed after him and stopped when he shushed them, peering down through the glass window. He signaled for them to get the rope and lower him down. They did as they were told and tied the rope around his waist while Salamander opened the window.

They lowered him down quietly and he worryingly watched for any sudden movements on the guards part. They hadn't noticed him yet. They stopped lowering him down right above the satchel. He hovered above it and slowly lowered his hand to grab it when he heard a sneezed from the guard right in front of him.

"Flu season huh?" He smirked. The guard didn't turn and just agreed with the voice.

"Ugh yeah, it's horrible," That was the moment when the guard realized what just happened and he turned around swiftly and watched as Salmander gave them smile and waved his goodbye. "H-Hey!" The guard yelled, gaining the attention of everyone else. He untied the rope and threw the satchel to Sting who caught it perfectly.

"Oh this is the life!" Salamander yelled out to no one. Rogue and Sting gave each other a look of annoyance before Sting piped up.

"Just keep running Salamander." Said Salamander ran in front of them. The funny thing was, they had used him, tying his wrists together and forcing him to come on this little hunt. If course Salamander had no intention of letting them get away with this, but he'd humor them for a little while.

They had ran into the woods for a while now, knowing the royal guards were hot on their trail. Salamander could see their horses from the corner of their eye. He especially noticed the black panther with a scar present on his face, he also noticed the man being carried by him He had long spiky hair that flowed down to his back. His red eyes pierced Salamander's own onyx ones, making him shudder. He also had piercings all over his face, making Salamander wonder how he even got the job.

They had eventually lost them and all three thieves slowed down and walked around the woods looking for a good hiding spot. Salamander then came up to a wanted poster of himself, Rogue, and Sting. He felt horror fill his body and he snatched the paper stapled to the tree.

"No no no, this is all wrong." Sting tilted his head to the side.

"What?" Salamander twisted the paper around with a huff.

"They just can't get the hair right." The picture was of Salamander, but the spiked hair was straight and loosened down to his ear. It looked like a really uneven bowl cut. Rogue stood up from having his hands on his knees and frowned at the picture

"Who cares?"

"Easy for you to say," he paused and gazed at their own wanted picture. "You guys look amazing." Sting just stocked his way up to Salamander and tore off the rope tying his hands.

"You'll need them eventually, but if you try anything." Salamander nodded and rubbed his sore wrists. They then heard a rustle and they took off again. The royal guards had caught up to them and trailed quickly behind them. Unfortunately for Salamander, they came up to a steep hill.

"Let me up, I'll help you when I'm done." They had no time to argue so Sting just climbed on Rogue's shoulders and hoisted Salamander up and over the cliff. Salamander then held out his hand for the satchel in Sting's own hands. "Hand me the satchel so I can help you up."

"Think I'm an idiot?" Sting spat. The guards horses only got closer, making Salamander sweat nervously.

"I don't think we have time to discuss your intelligence. If you want up, give me the satchel so I can do so."

"Just do it Sting." Rogue struggled out. Sting just grumbled and tossed it to Salamander. Big mistake.

"Now help us up." Salamander was already up on his feet and gave the twin dragons a huge grin and put the satchel in a bag, he put the bag over his shoulder.

"Well, it's been fun but I gotta go."

"Wait! Hey get back here Salamander! When we find you, you're dead!" Salamander cackled deviously and made a run for it. He looked behind him for a split second and opened his mouth in shock when the black panther and the man being carried flew over that cliff and flew their way to him. He made a surprised gurgle and ran faster as to not be caught.

Suddenly, the man riding the horse was thrown off when a tree branch had hit his head. Salamander sighed in relief, thinking that the huge cat would go back to it's master, but it only looked back at the long haired man for a second before zooming off to him again.

The cat seemed to just get faster and it was starting to tire the pink haired man out. He came up to a cliff and stopped abruptly with a yell. "Woah! That was a close one." The cat slammed into Salamander, making him drop the bag onto a branch far off the cliff. Salamander and the black panther looked at each other for a moment. Salamander punched the cat and ran on the branch, praying to reach the bag.

"You won't get the bag, you thief!" Salamander was surprised the cat could talk, but the cat also flew too so it really shouldn't be surprising. He's seen weirder things. Salamander got on all fours and stretched out his hand for the bag's strap. He brushed his fingers over it and happened to look up for a second.

He saw the cat flying towards the bag. The man grunted and dived for the bag, making sure to grip it tight so that the cat couldn't take it. "Ha!" Salamander laughed. Just as the cat was going to fight him for it, he suddenly turned small and started to fall. He heard the cat curse, but before he could laugh in his misfortune, the branch broke off and he started to fall as well.

He hit a few branches on the way down and landed into a tree. With a groan he untangled himself from the branches and jumped down from the tree. Below him, the big, now small cat, was unconscious. He looked up and found the pierced man glaring down at him. He just smiled and waved before dashing off.

He ran for about five minutes before coming up to a couple of vines. He figured they were attached to a rock so he leaned on them, but ended up falling backwards. He was about to scream a curse when he saw a shadow on the other side of the vines. It was that cat. He made sure to stay extra quiet as the cat walked away. Salamander breathed in deeply and turned around.

He could see a light at the end of the tunnel and he decided to follow it. This could be his chance to make a safe get away. He stood up and dusted off his pants and shirt. He placed his hand on the rock wall and followed it up to the light. He stared in awe at the sigh before him.

It was a large tower surrounded peacefully by nature. It looked as if this spot was untouched by man, it looked pure and beautiful. Salamander shook his head to focus. He ran towards the tall tower and grabbed an arrow he had kept. He smashed it onto the tower and started to climb.

It was difficult, but he managed to squeeze his way into the only opening to the tower. The window. He hopped in and looked down in his bag and smiled upon seeing the crown he had just stolen. "Ah, alone at la-"

He felt sharp pain and started to see black dots in his vision before he fainted and saw nothing but black.

...

Lucy had saw a man jump into her window and she had no choice but to hit him over the head with her frying pan. Happy flew next to her and kept himself afloat with his wings. He perched on her shoulder as Lucy shakingly held out her arm with her frying pan.

The man had half of his face visible so this gave Lucy the chance to lift up the side of her lip to see his teeth. Some of his teeth were sharper than hers, but not as exaggerated as her father said to her. She frowned in confusion. She then noticed what he was looking in, it was a brown bag. She went over to it and picked it up, looking inside. She took out a crown and examined it.

It was gold with three light purple diamonds wedged in. She thought it was absolutely beautiful. She looked towards happy and he smiled, signalling for her to try it on. She first put it on her wrist, but happy said it didn't look right. Then she tried her ankle, but it still didn't make any sense. Lastly, she placed it on her head and looked in the mirror confidently with a smile.

"Nah, that can't be it either." Happy said.

"You're right." Lucy tossed it back in the bag and stuffed it in a pot. Happy then giggled and whispered in her ear and she nodded. She dragged the strange man by the foot and tried stuffing him in her closet. His fingers were caught though and she had to poke them back in to keep his body in.

He then fell out with a thump, still unconscious. Lucy groaned and looked around for a moment. She grinned when she found a chair. She pulled the chair out and had Happy set him on the chair and she wrapped her own hair around his body so that he couldn't move. She made sure to hide in the shadows when he woke.

Giving the signal, she allowed happy to tickle the pink haired man by rubbing the end of his tail in his ear. The man stirred slightly and jolted awake with a cackle.

"Stop stop! Ahaha!" He leaned his chair to the side and had happy fall right off his shoulder. The man finally gained his bearings and looked around the room in confusion. He tried moving, but was constricted by her hair. He just now noticed this fact and struggled to get out of her blonde hair. "What the...?"

"Who are you?" The Salamander only raised a brow and looked up to where he heard the voice. It was feminine, but deadly, something that made him uneasy. He didn't answer right away which made Lucy angrier. "I said...who are you?" This time, she jumped down and walked her way up to him, the frying pan in her hand.

He eyed the pan and a flash a pain reached the back of his head. He guessed that was the thing that knocked him out. He finally got a good look at the woman and sucked in a breath. She had big beautiful brown eyes that held so much emotion while her pale skin complimented her eyes perfectly. Her long hair was golden in color and flowed down everywhere. The anger held in her eyes was intense.

"Is this your hair?"

"You're trying to steal it aren't you?" Salamander gave her a look like she was crazy and made several hand gestures to assure her that wasn't the case.

"Absolutely not. I was running and I climbed up here to hide. That's all. Wait a minute- where is it?!" The man panicked and looked around the room in a frenzy. Lucy had just smirked and chuckled, making the man turn his panicked gaze to her.

"Were you looking for your bag? You'll never find it." Salamander changed his expression neutral and condescendingly raised one eyebrow. He gestured his head over to a seemingly empty pot laying beside the staircase.

"It's in that pot, isn't it?" The girl dropped her smirk and the next thing Salamander knew, he felt pain on the side of his head and the world going black once more. "Mmhm" He stirred for a moment. In the corner of his eye, he saw that same blue cat sticking his tail in his ear. The cat just gave him a confident smile. He shrugged his shoulders so that the cat would fly off. "Would you stop that?!" The blonde haired girl just called over the cat and glared at Salamander.

"Now, you don't know where it is." Salamander frowned and struggled in his chair. "Now I want you to do something for me." Salamader stopped moving and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. The woman ran over to a wall and pulled back the curtains. It was a miral of her sitting and watching the stars...no! Lights! "Do you know what these are?"

Salamander rolled his eyes. "You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess every year?" The woman smiled and looked towards her blue cat.

"I knew they weren't stars..." She mumbled. She then turned to him and cleared her throat. "I want you to take me to them, and then I'll give you back your satchel." Salamander shook his head, making Lucy narrow her eyes in anger.

"No way, no how. Just give me my satchel and I'll be on my way. You won't even know I was here." Lucy let go of her curtains and stomped up to him in anger. She grabbed the right corner of his chair and leaned it forward so that she was close to his face. He gave her a blank stare so she decided to speak.

"These lights always float on one day. My birthday, I'm turning eighteen and I have a right to see them. You will help me or I won't give you back your satchel. And i promise, if you do this for me, we'll go our separate ways and you won't see me again. You'll get your stupid satchel and I'll get to see the lights," He raised a brow at her promise. "And when i make a promise, I don't break them...ever."

Salamander sighed and gazed up into her hardened eyes for a moment before looking away. "I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smoulder." Salamander gave what Lucy thought as a weird look. Puckering his lips slightly and raising an eyebrow. She just glared at him. "This is kind if an off day for me, this doesn't usually happen." He let his face drop and he groaned. "Fine I'll take you to see the lanterns"

"Really!?" She jumped up in excitement and let his chair drop. Thus making Salamander land on his face.

"You broke my smoulder." He said weakly. She rubbed the back of her head and apologized, she picked him up and untied him. She asked him to step out first so that she could watch how he was leaving. Salamander just grunted in annoyance and grabbed the arrow from before and jumped out the window.

She looked down from the tower in fear and stepped one foot on the ledge. Happy flew out and looked at her from outside the tower window. "I can carry you out if you want." Lucy just shook her head.

"No, I want to do this myself. Thank you anyway." She smiled sincerely.

"C'mon blondie, we don't have all day." Lucy ignored the strange man and hooked her hair around the hook like she normally would for her father. But this time, she stepped on her own hair and slid down like a rope, only stopping an inch of the ground. She looked up at Salamander's strange face and giggled lightly. She then planted one foot on the ground and felt the grass.

She rolled in the soft grass and giggled, running to a stream and throwing up the water as the birds around her chirped happily. She had never seen another animal besides Happy before so all this new found information pleased her as well as scared her.

"You really have never left the tower before?" Salamander said, coming up behind her. She nodded sadly and sat back down.

"By the way, what's your name. I don't think I ever caught it."

"Just call me Salamander." Lucy stood and tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"That's an odd name. I'm Lucy." Salamander pat her back and led her through the tunnel he came in. They opened up the vines and Lucy stared in awe at the nature. It looked so beautiful, something her father said wasn't. She frolicked through the flowers and swung around the trees with her hair. It annoyed the Salamander quite a bit. "I'm never going back!" She then felt dread.

"Hm?" Salamander questioned.

"What will my father say? Oh no, I'm in so much trouble. Oh Mavis why did I do this. I'm such a moron." She did this for a while, just screaming in excitement and then sighing in sadness the next. Salamander was confused by her mixed signals. Finally, she sat with her knees to her chest and moaned in sorrow.

"Maybe we should just go back. I'll get my satchel and you get to have your loving bond between daughter and father." He stood her up and guided her towards the tower again, but she just got out of his grip and held the frying pan near his face.

"No. I'm doing this and you can't persuade me otherwise." Salamander blew up and stomped around.

"Oh come on! Just give me my satchel!"

"I will use this." Lucy gestured to her pan. Happy just snickered towards Salamander. Natsu glared at the little fur ball, not liking how smug the small cat was being. That's when the heard a noise come from a bush. Lucy jumped behind Salamander and clung to his back like she was his backpack. She wrapped her legs around his torso and pointed her pan to the noise.

The rustling got louder until a small bunny popped out. Salamander just sneered and turned his head to Lucy. "Don't move. It might bite." Lucy laughed awkwardly and released her death grip on the Salamander. He smirked at her and laughed. "Maybe we should stay away from ruffians for now." Lucy rubbed her neck.

"Yeah, that would probably be for the best."

"Aye sir." Salamander looked at the cat in shock.

"I don't think I heard that thing talk yet. You know, you remind me of that one cat that was chasing me, he was black with a scar on his head. He flew just like you." Happy place a paw on his chin in thought.

"Oh! You mean pantherlilly. I heard he joined the royal guards before I found my way to Lucy." Salamander nodded and then, as if a lightbulb went on inside his head, he got an idea.

"Hey, are you two hungry? I know a great place where we can get some grub." Lucy and Happy's stomach grumbled, as if on cue and they nodded.

"Yeah we could eat." Lucy said, rubbing her stomach to sooth her hunger pains. Salamander grinned mischievously and led them towards a bar of sorts. It was more like a guild he never thought of joining. They would eat him alive, which is exactly why he's gonna take Lucy there. To scare her back into her tower so that he can get the satchel and be on his way.

"Here we are!" He showed both Lucy and her cat to an older building make of wood. There looked like there were multiple patch up jobs. There was a little sign hanging in front of the building. It read Fairy Tail.

"Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked him curiously. Salamander nodded and led them both in.

"This place is awesome. You'll love it here." Once they all stepped in, Lucy immediately went into a fighting stance, pointing her pan at everyone who dared to even look at her. There were men and women giving them side glances as they made their way up to the bar. One man picked up some of Lucy's hair and let it fall between his finger.

"Wow, that's a lot of hair." The man had black hair, with a scar on his forehead. He was in the process of taking off his shirt when Salamander and Lucy finally got to the bar. Salamander looked off and saw a man right beside him. He was drinking some beer and a small kid sat next to him.

"Blondie look. This man has some blood in his mustache. Wow, what a sight. I'm loving it here." Lucy gave Happy a worried look and then turned her attention to the bar tender. She had hair so white it looked like snow, her bangs were tied up in a ponytail, showing her forehead. She smiled warmly with both her mouth and ocean blue eyes.

"What do we have here? A small woman with a blue cat and," She suddenly gave Salamander a glare. "Salamander..." Salamander smiled happily. Suddenly a woman with red hair slammed a paper down right next to Salamander and Lucy.

"Is this you?" Her hand was covering his hair and he moved it to see the full image. He was drawn completely bald.

"Oh now they're just being mean." The barmaid jumped over the counter and started to stock towards all three of them. More members began to stand as well. Salamander grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her towards the door. "I think this is our cue to leave."

...

Jose was heading back to the tower after getting the supplies needed. It didn't take him as long as he thought, he had gotten a few rides from horses. He wanted to hurry back, he had a bad feeling about something, but he couldn't quite place what.

Suddenly a giant cat wielding a sword jumped out from a bush and held the sword to Jose's neck. The cat looked frustrated and mangled. He had a wrapped foot and the wings he displayed were ruffled while one of them weren't sprouted out at all. It looked broken.

"State your business." The cat called. Jose held up both hands in a defensive pose. The cat watched his every movement.

"I was just heading home. What are you doing pointing a sword to an innocent man's throat." The big cat realized this and dropped his sword and looked away with guilt. He bowed his body and apologized for his behavior. Jose lowered his own hands and then noticed a balled paper in the cat's hands "What is in your hand?"

The cat stood tall and uncrumpled the paper and handed it to Jose. It was a picture of Salamander, hair still not placed right. Jose examined the paper and motioned for the panther to explain why he had the paper in the first place.

"This is Salamander. He stole a crown from the king and queen. I was about to catch him when I was knocked unconscious. The last thing i saw was him running away around this area. I would like to ask if you've seen him around lately." The paper in Jose's hand shook. This was the bad feeling he was experiencing. He suddenly looked off in the direction of the tower.

"No I haven't. Exuse me." He ran off, making the cat call after him, but not follow him. He ran straight through the vines and up to the tower. Growing anxious, he called out to Lucy. "Lucy! Let down your hair!" He called up to the vacant window. No answer.

Panicked, he ran behind the tower and ripped off some ivy growing towards the bottom. He grabbed multiple little rocks that made up the tower and managed to break through. He eventually made his way below the floor of the tower and kicked a tile up and climbed in.

"Lucy! Lucy!" He checked everywhere for the blonde girl, but couldn't find her anywhere. He then noticed something shimmering in the light, under a stair step. He lifted the top of the steps and picked up the crown the cat had been speaking of. He snarled and stood, leaving the tower.

He was going to get her back.

...

"No!" Lucy pulled back from Salamander's pull and looked around the guild. Everyone had stopped to see what she was getting at. "I have a dream and I'm going to do this! Don't you have any sympathy. Don't you have a dream."

They all looked at each other. The red haired woman suddenly threw an axe towards a man sitting next to a broom. He had an accordion and ducked right before the axe hit him. He started to play the instrument in fear of getting actually hit.

 _"I'm malicious, mean and scary_  
 _My sneer could curdle dairy_  
 _And violence wise my hands_  
 _Are not the cleanest_

 _But despite my evil cry_  
 _And my temper_  
 _And my eye..._

 _I've always yearned to be a concert pianist!_

 _Can't ya see me on the stage performin' Mozart?_  
 _Ticklin' the ivories 'till they gleam?_  
 _Yup, I'd rather be called deadly_  
 _For my killer showtune medley_

 _Thank you!_

 _Cause way down deep inside I've got a dream!"_

 _"She's got a dream_  
 _She's got a dream"_

 _"See I ain't as cruel and vicious as I seem_  
 _Though I do like breaking femurs_  
 _You can count me with the dreamers_  
 _Like everybody else I've got a dream"_

 _"La la la la la_  
 _La la la la la_  
 _La la Laaaaa"_

 _"I've got scars and lumps and bruises_  
 _Plus something here that oozes_  
 _And let's not even mention_  
 _my complexion_

 _But despite my extra toes_  
 _And my goiter_  
 _and my nose_

 _I really want to make a love connection!_

 _Can't you see me with a special little lady?_  
 _Rowing in a rowboat sown the stream?_

 _Though I'm one disgusting blighter_  
 _I'm a lover, not a fighter_  
 _Cause way down deep inside_  
 _I've got a dream!_

 _I've got a dream"_

 _"He's got a dream"_

 _"I've got a dream"_

 _"He's got a dream"_

 _"And I know one say romance will reign supreme_

 _Though my face leaves people screaming_  
 _There's a child behind it dreaming_  
 _Like everybody else I've got a dream"_

 _"Evergreen would like to quit and be a florist"_

 _"Bisca does interior design"_

 _"Warren is into mime"_

 _"Mira cupcakes are sublime"_

 _"Kinana Knits_  
 _Laki sews_  
 _Elfman does little puppet shows"_

 _"And Droy collects ceramic unicorns"_

 _"I have dreams like you- No, really!_  
 _Just much less... touchy feely_  
 _They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny!_  
 _On an Island that I own_  
 _Tanned and rested and alone_

 _Surrounded by enormous piles of money"_

 _"I've got a dream"_

 _"She's got a dream"_

 _"I've got a dream"_

 _"She's got a dream_  
 _I just want to see the floating lanterns gleam!_

 _And with every passing hour_  
 _I'm so glad I left my tower!_  
 _Like all you lovely folk_  
 _I've got a dream!"_

 _"She's got a dream_  
 _He's got a dream_  
 _They've got a dream_  
 _We've got a dream_

 _So our differences ain't really that extreme,_  
 _We're one big team!_

 _Call us brutal,_  
 _sick_  
 _sadistic_  
 _And grotesquely optimistic_

 _Cause way down deep inside_  
 _We've got a dream_

 _I've got a dream_  
 _I've got a dream_  
 _I've got a dream_  
 _I've got a dream_  
 _I've got a dream_  
 _I've got a dream_

 _Yes way down deep inside i've got a dream!_

 _Yeah!"_

Little did Lucy know that Jose was watching their little scene the whole time. He suddenly smirked and looked at the crown. He had an idea. A small drunken man had stumbled out of the door suddenly. He had a mustache and a blue and orange outfit on, with a hat that had two tail ends sticking down on opposite sides of his head.

"I have...ugh...a dream." The small man looked at Jose and smiled. "Who..'re you?" Jose croutched down and held a knife to the drunk man's neck. The man glared at him, but it wasn't intimidating since he was still intoxicated.

"Do me a favor?"

Lucy laughed and jumped off the table she was standing on and into Salamander's arms. He set her down gently. The door slammed open, revealing a man with spiked headphones, a purple shirt with a fluffy cost going in it. He had blonde hair and a thunderbolt shaped scar on his eye.

"I told the royal guards, like master asked he too." He shrugged, slipping away into the crowed. Royal guards came bursting in, signalling Lucy, Happy, and Salamadner to duck under the bar counter to hide.

"Where is he?" The same peirced man from before asked. Behind him was a small girl with blue hair, trying to calm the man down as he grabbed a guild member and held them up by their shirt. The small girl grabbed his arm in anger.

"Would you knock it off, gajeel. Patherlilly," She turned her head over to the big panther that could fly. He grunted. "Look for him, will ya?" He nodded and searched various places. Under tables, behind people or in corners.

They had also brought in Sting and Rogue who looked absolutely pissed. Gajeel asked a guard to watch them, but they had knocked him out quickly and made a run for it when Gajeel and the small girl wasn't looking. The ran out the door and made sure to hide and wait for the Salamander. They knew he would make an escape.

Both Sting and Rogue ran a ways away from the bar and stopped by a tree. Rogue picked up a stick and started to sharpen it with a knife he had on him. Sting only sat down beside him amd caught his breath. They then felt another presence and Sting growled.

"Come out." They heard a laugh and out jumped a man. He wore what looked like a witch hat with dark lipstick.

"You caught me." Rogue held up his knife, ready to attack if necessary. Jose just laughed and tossed them a bag. Sting held it up and examined it. Realizing what it was, he shot jose a confused glare. "That won't be necessary." He nodded over to Rogue's weapon.

"What's the meaning of this?" Sting asked.

"Well, I need some help. You can have the crown if you want. I have no need for it, but I could get you something worth a thousand crowns. And it involves getting revenge on Salamander." Sting and Rogue gave each other a look and smirked. They nodded up to Jose who laughed maniacally.

Lucy gave Salamander a worried look. Suddenly the naked man with the black hair appeared before them. He was accompanied by the Scarlet haired woman. "We'll help ya out." He pulled on a lever with their insignia and a trap door opened up. "I hope your dream comes true."

"I do too." Salamander smiled towards the tunnel below the floor.

"I was talking to her, your dream stinks." Salamander just rolled his eyes and stepped in. Lucy looked back at the woman and man and she smiled.

"Could I have your names. Maybe we'll meet again some day" The man and woman looked at each other before the woman spoke up.

"I'm Erza Scarlet and this," She pointed to the man. "Is Gray Fullbuster." Lucy giggled and suddenly brought them in for a hug.

"It was so cool meeting you, right Happy?"

"Aye!" Both Gray and Erza's eyes widened, making Happy grin. They finally stepped through the floor and Gray closed the hatch. They both caught up to Salamander who was crossing his arms with impatientness.

"What took you so long."

"Just making friends is all." Salamander rolled his eyes and started walking ahead. Lucy caught up and looked at Salamander from the side of her eye. She knew so little about the man, why doesn't he tell her anything. Well, she was one to talk. He doesn't know much about her either, only that she never left the tower she was in.

"Sooo, why is the satchel so important to-"

"Oh no no no. I don't do small talk and back stories. But i am curious about yours," She raised a brow. "I know I can't ask about the hair."

"Nope"

"The father."

"Nope"

"Or the dog."

"Cat"

"But I do have one question. If you've wanted to leave the tower so bad, than why didn't you?" She was about to answer him when the heard a call from the small blue haired woman. Salamander picked up some of her hair draging and they took off into a run. They came to a small opening on a cliff and panted as they looked around.

Guards came out not a second later with the black spiky haired man, Gajeel.

"Who is that?"

"They don't like me." Then the panter from before flew out and glared at him.

"Who is that?"

"He doesn't like me either." Then two men came out from below them. Sting and Rogue.

"And who are they?"

"Okay, let's just assume everyone here doesn't like me." Unexpectedly, the panther spread his wings and zoomed towards them at incredible speed. Happy screamed Lucy's name while she through Salamander her frying pan.

"It'll be helpful. I have a plan but i need some time!" Salamander nodded and ran up to Pantherlilly. Pantherlilly swung his huge sword and slammed it down at Salamander who blocked it swiftly with the pan. He fought back several guards as well as the panther. He hit the pan over the guards head and smiled triumphantly.

"Wow, I get the appeal." He twirled the frying pan quickly and tried swinging at the black cat. Instantaneously, Lucy called out his name and he turned his head for a moment.

"Let's go!" She grabbed onto her hair and swung down off the cliff and Salamander followed suit. He jumped on a dam and slid down to catch up to Lucy. In this process, he knocked the whole dam down which threw off all the enimes chasing him. Happy squealed in fear and clung to Lucy's back. When Salamander hit the ground, he grabbed up the rest of Lucy's seventy foot hair and ran off. The water the dam was holding in was catching up quick. It knocked over rocks in the process.

All three of them squeezed through a small cave and the rocks trapped them in, water coming through the rock's holes and filling up the cave with water. Salamander tried pulling on the rocks, but they were compacted in too tight and he only cut his hand.

"Gah!" He held his hand in pain. The water was filling up quickly while Lucy sat on a rock and held her knees to her chest.

"I'm so sorry. I'm going to get us killed. Salamander, I didn't mean for this to happen." Lucy cried into her hands, making Salamander feel sad and awkward.

"Don't worry, blondie. I'll get us out of here. Maybe we can use your hair..." He thought for a moment. The water was now at their neck, making them turn their heads upward so they wouldn't get their head dipped in the water. Lucy then realized their solution.

"Hair! Oh Mavis! Uh, flower gleam and glow," Her hair started to glow golden, scaring Salamander. "Let your powers shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine." She said the last part quickly as her head submerged in the water. All three held their breath and swam down to a weak point in the rocks. Salamader pulled one more time and finally pushed out a hole.

His hand reached through the hole and pulled out more rocks which shot them all out and into a river. They swam to shore and sucked in air as they laid in the ground in shock and relief. Lucy suddenly laughed and stood.

"Were alive."

"Her hair glows. " Happy snickered at his shocked expression and picked Salamander up with his wings and sat him down. During Salamander's inner turmoil, Lucy and Happy set up a small fire and rolled some logs in front of it. The sun started to set and Lucy sat down next to Salamander and sighed.

"Give me your hand." He hesitantly brought his injured hand over to hers and she set it in her lap for a minute. She then grabbed her hair and wrapped his hand. He furrowed his brows and watched as she shyly smiled up at him. "Just don't freak out okay?" He nodded suspiciously.

"He's gonna get it..." Happy giggled. Salamander glared at him, shutting him up. He closed his eyes, but he felt his hand twitch in her hold for a moment before she started speaking.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine, heal what has been hurt. Change the fate's design,Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine..." He opened his eyes as he felt light shine through his eyelids. He watched in awe as her hair glowed around his own hand. The pain slowly ebbed away and she unwrapped his hand.

The cut was completely gone, not even a scar was left. He made a noise like he wanted to scream.

"Don't! Freak out..." He closed his mouth, but his voice was high when he spoke.

"Its just so different. You have magic hair that healed my hand. How long have you had this power anyway?" She just rubbed her arm and laughed awkwardly.

"Uhm...since forever...I guess?" They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, not daring to say a word to each other. Happy remined quiet, not knowing what to add to the silence to make it better. "Salamander-"

"That's not my real name." Lucy looked at him in surprise and shut her mouth. She wanted to know what he meant by his sentence. He rubbed the back if his neck, suddenly nervous from her confused gaze. "My real name is Natsu Dragneel."

"Oh? And why the name salamander?" Salama- No, Natsu turned his head away from her. He was embarrassed to tell her.

"Well, there was a story I was read as a kid. "Tales of the great Salamander!" He was rich with not only money, but with the ladies as well. He had not a care in the world and everyone loved him. He was my hero and i decided to follow in his footsteps." Lucy watched as Natsu smiled happily at the night sky.

"Wow...that was unexpected."

"Hey! I was poor as a kid, and i can have cool dreams too." Lucy giggled and grinned his way, actually startling the treasure Hunter. He felt small amounts of heat attack his face and he decided to stand up and stretch. "Oh look, we're out of fire wood. I'll go get some!" He started to walk away but stopped when he heard Lucy's voice.

"I prefer Natsu Dragneel over Salamander any day." Her smile seemed to have brightened up the entire area, making Natsu smile as well. He rubbed the back of his head and walked away. Lucy relaxed and talked with Happy for a few minutes before feeling an ominous presence behind her. She slowly grabbed her frying pan

"You sure are smart. Well, I did raise you..." Lucy gasped and lowered her weapon. Jose came out with a disappointed frown on his face, but he didn't voice his thoughts.

"Father!" Happy ran behind a tree, in fear of getting a glare from Jose. Lucy lowered her eyebrows and looked away from him. "I'm sorry I ran away, but I just really wanted to see the lanterns. It's been a dream of mine since i was younger!"

"I'm only worried for your safety, Lucy. The man you're with is a criminal and I just don't trust him." Lucy felt a growl make it's way up her throat. For some reason, shd felt the need to defend Natsu and his actions.

"Father, he's not actually a bad guy. He's willing to take me to the lanterns-"

"Yeah, for his precious satchel." Jose suddenly tossed her the bag holding the crown. It landed right in front of her feet. Lucy slowly picked it up and looked at it with a sad expression.

"But he hasn't once talked about it during our whole time together." Jose mocked gasped which gained Lucy's attention.

"Don't tell me you're falling for this man?" Lucy squeaked at this accusation and felt her cheeks burn violently.

"Father I know he's a good man. You're wrong this time!" Jose stopped smirking and his whole body tensed, making Lucy believe she must of said the wrong thing. "I think he likes me."

 _"Likes you? Please,_  
 _Lucy, that's demented._  
 _This is why you never should have left_  
 _Dear, this whole romance_  
 _that you've invented_  
 _Just proves you're too naive to be here_  
 _Why would he like you,_  
 _come on now, really_  
 _Look at you, you think_  
 _that he's impressed?_  
 _Don't be a dummy_  
 _Come with daddy. Father-"_

 _"No!"_

 _"No?_  
 _Hmm... I see how it is._  
 _Lucy knows best. Lucy's so mature now_

 _Such a clever, grown-up miss_  
 _Lucy knows best_  
 _Fine, if you're so sure now_  
 _Go ahead then, give him this_

 _This is why he's here_  
 _Don't let him deceive you_  
 _Give it to him, watch, you'll see_  
 _Trust me, my dear_  
 _That's how fast he'll leave you_  
 _I won't say I told you so_

 _No, Lucy knows best_  
 _So if he's such a dreamboat_  
 _Go and put him to the test_  
 _If he's lying_  
 _Don't come crying_  
 _Father knows best"_

Jose walked away darkly, still upset by Lucy's words. Lucy grabbed the crown and stuffed it in a hole in a tree. That's when she heard footsteps come back. She held in her breath and turned to see Natsu coming back with a hand full of fire wood.

"Y'know, that hair of yours really is something. My hand feels better than ever before. Hey- you okay?" He saw her saddened expression. She went frigid and pulled on a tight smile. She nodded and grabbed the wood from his hands.

"Yeah I'm fine...you won't leave me, right?" He chuckled and pat her head.

"Not anytime soon. We had a deal remember?" She laughed sadly.

"Yeah...the deal." Natsu knew that she was upset, but didn't press the issue as she probably wouldn't tell him anyway. He was also extremely tired after almost dying. He just laid down, but then didn't notice the blue cat anywhere.

"Where's the cat?"

"I'm right here. I just had to," he looked at Lucy for a moment before finishing his sentence. "Go to the bathroom. I'm back now" He ran to Lucy and snuggled up with her. She slowly started to smile and she embraced him. Natsu raised an eyebrow, but just shrugged and finally went to sleep.

 _Morning_

Natsu gurgled to himself when he felt a tug on his shoe. He opened up an eye amd saw the culprit attacking the lower half of his body. He smiled dreamingly and settled back in, usuing his hands as a pillow.

"Well, I hope you came back to apologize." He was then lurched forward by his foot and dragged around the lot they were currently sleeping on. He screamed, which woke up happy and Lucy. She rubbed her eyes.

"What's going on?"

"This cat stole my boot!" She sobered up nicely and stood up quickly with Happy in her grasp. She looked over at the same black cat from the bar and watched as he held Natsu's boot in a tight grip. Lucy sighed and ran up to the cat.

"Exuse me?" He looked down at her, rage clear in his eyes. This made Lucy step back a bit, but she never broke eye contact.

"You do realize you're harboring a criminal. Which is punishable by death." Lucy's features stretched out in alarm. She didn't know that was a law. She made sure to only keep that expression for a second before she went back to calm.

"I didn't know that, but please listen to me," She sucked in and blew out a breath before continuing. "I need him to take me to the floating lights because I've wanted to see them since i was a little girl so could you please wait until tonight? After we're done, you two can chase each other forever." Pantherlilly crossed his arms, starting to sweat.

"Hmm..."

"And it's also my birthday...just to let you know." Pantherlilly sighed and transformed into a smaller, more cute in Lucy's opinion, form. He nodded quietly and let her giggle in delight and pick him up to pull him into a hug. He then noticed Happy.

"Happy?"

"Aye sir! I'm glad you achieved your dream and helping Lucy achieve hers." Pantherlilly's eyes widened at the name Lucy. He studied her appearance and watching her grab Natsu's boot and hand it back to him. Was it really her?

"Thanks." Natsu mumbled and pulled on his boot. Lucy then scooped up Happy and placed him on her head. He purred and got comfortable. Pantherlilly glared at Natsu who glared right back at him. They started to push each other once Lily grew in size. Happy then turned his head and frowned at the two of them.

Shaking his head in disappointment, he made sure they stopped fighting before turning back around. Lily still had that wanted poster from before and slammed it in Natsu's face. This had Lily snickering before running to catch up to Lucy and Happy. Natsu growled and tore it off, looking at how inaccurate his hair was before ripping it up.

All four of them crossed a bridge into town, Lucy looking absolutely excited to be there. Natsu made sure to hide in the crowd as to not get caught by the royal guards.

"Ack!" Lucy winced as people stepped and kicked at her hair. Natsu helped gather it up and looked around for a solution. He found a couple of girls braiding each other's hair with smiles adorning her face. One girl had dark blue hair set up in pigtails while the other had pink hair with shorter pigtails that spiked out. Natsu tapped on the blue haired girl's shoulder and held out Lucy's hair.

The two girls laughed and grabbed Lucy's hair and had her sit down. They created three bunches from her hair and started to braid it happily. They also decorated it with flowers when they finished. Lucy stood and twirled, smiling at Natsu.

Natsu watched with wide eyes and suddenly looked away. Frustrated at his weakness. Pantherlilly nudged him with a smirk, making Natsu glare back. Natsu pushed away Lily's face and followed Lucy out. He didn't notice how Happy was giggling mischievously his way as well.

They did multiple things around town. Lucy helped the children draw a miral out of chalk on the road. A kid rushed over and gave her a flag made out of a silly material. It held the sun that she drew on it. She grinned ear to ear and gave the boy a hug. They also visited a library, Lucy wanting to study some more about the town. Pantherlilly decided to wait outside to guard the place so that no guard would dare walk in.

After an hour or so, they left the place and Natsu ran away for a second, coming back with two cupcakes and telling her to turn into an alley way. Later on, she found out he stole them. She thought it was sweet in a sort of messed up way. They ran away with Happy on her head and Pantherlilly hot on their trail, asking them to slow down or they'd get caught. They even came up to a beautiful tile miral of the lost princess and her parents.

"She kinda looks like you." Natsu placed a hand on his chin in thought. Lucy just laughed it off, figuring she could never be the princess. She looked at the sun on the flag the child gave her and noticed it on the babies clothes as well as the parents.

"Nah." Lucy laughed.

Of course Natsu had to duck out of sight more than a few times. Guards were swarming the place everywhere. He looked up for a moment to find Lucy clapping along with others and townspeople danced. A man suddenly grabbed Lucy's hand, pulling her into the crowd of dancing people. She declined at first, but gave in and danced along with multiple partners.

"Go up there." Lily stated bluntly. Natsu scoffed and shook his head.

"No way." Lily bared his teeth, scaring Natsu into standing up and heading towards the crowd. An old woman grabbed his hand. "Ahh, no. I'm just watching."

"Nonsense!" The woman laughed. "Let's dance for at least a little while." He groaned inwardly and let her pull him around. He danced with multiple women for a while, non of which had entertained him enough to actually enjoy the dance. He made eye contact with Lucy and saw her laugh vibrantly.

They tried grabbing each other's hand, but was pulled away by other townsfolk. The music was playing faster and making them more upbeat. Towards the end of the dance, they finally got into each other's arms and breathes heavily at the workout they just endured.

"Hey." Natsu smirked down at her. She gave him a shy smile and she looked away.

"Hey," She then looked towards the sky. "The sun is setting. We should probably get going." He let go if her hands and nodded, snapping at Happy and Pantherlilly who watched their little exchange in amusement. They all walked towards the dock and rented a boat.

Happy jumped in while Natsu helped lower Lucy in. She thanked him while he turned to Lily. Lily watched as he jumped in the boat silently and backed up a ways when he Natsu threw a bag in front of him. Kiwis sprawled out everywhere, startling the cat.

"What's this?"

"A thanks for not ratting me out," Lilly looked at Natsu suspiciously. "What? I bought them." Lily nodded and picked up some to eat. "Most of them" this got Lily to stop immediately and glare at Natsu who just rowed away with a chuckle.

The boat rocked back and forth as he steered them towards the middle of the river. That then sat in comfortable silence as they waited for the lanterns to be released. "I would like to thank you for bringing me all the way out here."

"No problem blondie." There was a light that shone into Lucy's eyes. Natsu turned around to see the lanterns finally making their way over to them.

"Ahh, look!" Lucy giggled and ran up to the end of the boat, making it rock violently with her movements.

 _All those days watching from the windows_  
 _All those years outside looking in_  
 _All that time never even knowing_  
 _Just how blind I've been_  
 _Now I'm here blinking in the starlight_  
 _Now I'm here suddenly I see_  
 _Standing here it's all so clear_  
 _I'm where I'm meant to be_

 _And at last I see the light_  
 _And it's like the fog has lifted_  
 _And at last I see the light_  
 _And it's like the sky is new_  
 _And it's warm and real and bright_  
 _And the world has somehow shifted_  
 _All at once everything looks different_  
 _Now that I see you_

 _All those days chasing down a daydream_  
 _All those years living in a blur_  
 _All that time never truly seeing_  
 _Things, the way they were_  
 _Now she's here shining in the starlight_  
 _Now she's here suddenly I know_  
 _If she's here it's crystal clear_  
 _I'm where I'm meant to be_

 _"And at last I see the light"_

 _"And it's like the fog has lifted"_

 _"And at last I see the light"_

 _"And it's like the sky is new"_

 _"And it's warm and real and bright_  
 _And the world has somehow shifted_  
 _All at once everything is different_  
 _Now that I see you_

 _Now that I see you"_

Natsu grabbed Lucy's hands and gazed into her eyes. He felt himself slowly lean forward and to his surprise, she was doing the same. He then noticed something shining towards the bottom of the boat.

"What's that?" He pointed to the bag under her seat. She frowned when she noticed the lack of contact, but when she realized what he said she grabbed the bag quickly and shoved it to him. He took it with confusion and peered inside. "The satchel..."

"I should of given it to you sooner, but I guess I never got around to it..." She hugged herself and rubbed her shoulder as she waited for a reply. He sat in silence for a moment. But only for a moment. He realized what he wanted to do and he rowed the boat to shore. "Natsu? What are you doing?" His heart skipped a beat when she used his name. He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"Don't worry. I'll be right back." Lucy nodded wordlessly and watched him jump out of the boat and run along the shores of the beach. He jumped over a tree trunk and was out of her view. He walked for a second before finding two figures sitting on a tree trunk. It was Rogue and Sting. Rogue was busy sharpening another stick while Sting watched with uninterest.

He threw the bag to them, the crown falling out in the process. Natsu clapped his hands and cleared his throat. "I've just realized that i do not want the crown anymore so you guys can have it. I would say it's been fun, but well. Yeah." He saw them stand and kicked the crown away as if it was nothing. They walked up to him and smirked.

"We don't want it anymore either. But we do want that woman you've been hanging around. Well, her hair anyway." Natsu's eyes widened and he turned to run, but felt a pain in the back of his head he fainted as he felt the world go black.

...

Lucy sat patiently for Natsu to come back. Happy talked about fish with her quietly until she saw a silhouette of a person coming towards her. She sighed in relief and stood up from inside the boat and she stepped out. "I thought you just left me here and ran off with the crown." That's when that silhouette turned into two.

A man with blonde hair and a man with black hair was seen. She gasped and stepped back. Happy shot up with his wings and flew in front of her, it was his attempt to protect her.

"But he did take off. Look." The man with blnide hair turned his head over to another boat floating iff to the town. Lucy held her mouth agape at the sight of Natsu floating away.

"N-Natsu!" She called out.

"He won't hear you." The man with black hair grumbled. He then grabbed a strand of her hair and grinned darkly. "That's some nice hair you got there. I heard it glowed..." Lucy froze in fear. That's when both men were knocked out by a figure behind them. The other man held a log in his hands and looked frightened.

"Daddy!" Lucy cried, hugging Jose tight to her. Jose dropped the log and hugged her back. "Oh father, you were right the whole time. He left me here!" She sobbed into his chest. Jose just stroked her hair and tilted her chin to face him.

"It's okay now...you're safe. Let's just go home." Lucy sniffed and nodded. They walked in complete silence, Happy in Lucy's grasp. They made it back to the tower after taking multiple short cuts. Lucy climbed the tower and once she made it to the top, she dropped her hair for her father.

He used to her hair to climb up and once he made it through the window, he shut it. He guided Lucy to her bed and undid the braid that tied her hair. He then look out every flower and put them in a basket.

"There, back to normal." Lucy just hid her face in her hair. Jose sighed and rubbed her back. "It's alright my dear. Men like him don't deserve a jewel like you anyway."

"I know..." Jose sighed in impatientness.

"I tried telling you Lucy. The world can take anything bright and sunny and destroy it," he looked at how her face saddened. He let a small smile grace his face for a moment. "I'll go make some soup. Your favorite." Jose left the room.

Lucy whined and laid back on the bed, the flag the child gave her still in her hand. She looked at it for a while, then looked up towards the ceiling and noticed the same sun symbol from all of her paintings on the wall. She drew them unconsciously, like she remembered them from some time ago. Happy put his paws on her, worried by her features. They contorted in surprise and betrayal.

That's when she remembered everything. The sun symbol was from the mobile when she was a baby. She grabbed Happy and hid him under the bed, telling him to stay there. She stumbled out of her room. Jose was about to come in with her soup, but stopped when he saw her.

"Lucy? Is everything alright?"

"I'm the lost princess." She mumbled. Apparently, Jose couldn't hear her because he just huffed and set the bowl of soup down.

"Lucy, what have I told you about that retched mumbling-"

"I said," She stated louder. "I'm the lost princess, aren't I father? Or whoever you are because you certainly aren't my father." Jose sneered and took a step forward to grab Lucy, but she stepped back violently. "Get away you creep!"

"That's insane, Lucy. You're a nobody!" Jose screamed.

"You lied to me my whole life. This changes everything. I wasted eighteen years of my life here, how could you? You're evil! You told me to be afraid of everyone out there, but i should of been afraid of you!" She pushed passed Jose and walked down the stairs.

"Lucy! Do you believe that man will help you?"

Lucy turned to glare at him. "What did you do to him?"

"He's to be hanged for his actions." Lucy's eyes widened.

"How could you?! I'm leaving."

Jose narrowed his eyes. "Alright, if you want me to be the bad guy, I'll be the bad guy..."

...

Natsu was woken up when the boat had banged against the dock. He groaned and wanted to rub the back of his head, but his hands were tied to the wheel of a boat. He started to panic and look around for the blonde.

"There he is, Salamander. And he has the crown!" He ignored the calls of the royal guards and stuggled against the ropes tying him down.

"Lucy! Lucy!" He struggled as the guards surrounded him and pushed him away from where he saw Lucy last. After some time, he stopped and just slumped as he walked, ashamed he let Lucy down. He was led through multiple halls under the castle. They eventually made it to a jail cell and he was thrown in.

"Hold tight. You'll get what's coming to ya." A guard cackled and walked away. Natsu slid down again the wall and hid his face in his knees. He was sure he'd never see Lucy again, and just when he was coming to terms with his feelings for her.

"Blondie..." He mumbled as he fell into a dreamless slumber. Gajeel could be heard a ways down, walking to his exact cell. Gajeel looked strained, but the way the woman beside him looked at him, it made him feel better.

"I didn't want this, Levy. He was a pain in the ass, but nobody deserves to just be executed for crimes such as this." Levy rubbed his back to sooth the bigger man's nerves. She didn't like it either. She thought the man, Salamander, wasn't such a bad guy.

"I know, but it is law and we must abide by the law." Gajeel reluctantly nodded and they made it up to his jail cell. He was sleeping with a troublesome look gracing his features. Gajeel banged on the cell bars, waking up the pink haired man. He sat up silently and looked between Levy and Gajeel.

"It's time Salamander." Natsu furrowed his brows.

"Time for...oh" He realized what he meant when looking at his face. Natsu stood up and stumbled his way to the cell bars. Gajeel unlocked it and let the bar door creak open. Levy slapped some cuffs on Natsu and Gajeel grabbed his shoulder so that he followed to where his execution was held. Natsu only tried to get out of his grip twice before stopping his movements all together.

He saw the noose being hung outside and he sighed finally. Gajeel grunted emotionless.

"I thought you would create more struggle."

"There's no point. I won't get to see her again anyway, she probably hatees me after I never came back." He never meant to speak out loud like that, but what did it matter. He was going to die anyway. They came up to a steel door and Gajeel banged on it.

"Hey let us in!" A drunken woman opened the little sliding hatch and grinned at Gajeel who just scowled. "Who the hell are you?"

"What's the password?"

"Open the door!"

"Wrong, try again" Natsu realized who this woman was. She was the drunkard from that bar, Fairy Tail. Natsu looked to the side and saw a tiny ceramic unicorn settled on a window. Natsu grinned happily and waited for the moment to get away. Levy noticed his grin and frowned. Gajeel turned around to use another door but a mime stopped him from usuing the hallway.

The mime was that guy, Warren! He did several silent tricks to distract both Levy and Gajeel. Natsu felt a presence above him and he looked up. Gray and Erza smirked down at him and put a finger to their lips, to shush him. He nodded and started to wiggled out of his cuffs.

Gray and Erza suddenly jumped down and knocked both Levy and Gajeel out, but was kind enough to set them up against the wall on Natsu's orders. "I don't believe they were against me. Just doing their job." Erza ripped off his handcuffs and they ordered Natsu to jump out the window.

"Just do it, flame brain." Natsu was confused by the nickname, but jumped anyway. He was caught by a huge man with white hair. He set him down on some wood and ran off. The barmaid, Mira was there next to him and she gave him a smile.

"Head down." She ordered, helping him by copying the moves.

"Head down." He repeated.

"Arms in."

"Arms in."

"Knees apart."

"Knees apart- wait, why knees apart?" He suddenly went flying as the man from before jumped on the other side of the wood and shot Natsu in the air. Natsu screamed but stayed in formation and just as he was going to hit the ground, he was caught by pantherlilly. "Pantherlilly!"

"I'm here to help."

"Wow, thank you. I honestly feel like we've bonded through all this and-" He looked up at Lily's face and shrugged his shoulders. "We should probably get going."

"Yeah." Stated pantherlilly, annoyed. Lily flapped his wings and flew towards the tower at top speed. He flew through multiple people, knocking them over in the process. Natsu helped Lily navigate where to go when Lily could no longer find his way.

"Just go through these vines and you'll be there." Lilly grunted and zoomed through the vines and up to the tower. He set Natsu on the window ledge and he backed away, but gave Natsu a worried look. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Lily nodded and ran off and out of sight. Natsu opened the window and stepped in.

"Natsu no!" Happy screamed.

"Happy? Where is Lucy?" He then felt a sharp pain in his side. He crumbled to the floor and held his side in agony. Light shine through the window and Natsu could see Lucy tied up with horror struck on her face. She made several noise and struggled against her chains.

"You should be hanged by now. Pesky royal guards." Jose stepped over Natsu dismissingly and pulled on Lucy's chains. "Come on...Lucy...stop being difficult!"

She pulled down the rag covering her mouth and breathed heavily. "No! I'll never stop being difficult and i will never stop trying to get away from you! But...if you let me heal him, I'll never run again."

"Lucy, No!" Natsu grounded out.

"I'll be good and things will go back to normal. Like they always were. Just let me heal him." Jose let go of her chains without a word and she crawled to him at incredible speed. She opened up his buttoned shirt and saw him grimace and lay back.

He was loosing a lot of blood. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power," she started to cry. "P-Power shine...why isn't it working?!" Blood started to trickle down his mouth as he smiled. She held his face and sobbed quietly.

"Lucy..." He brought a hand to her face. She placed her hand on top of it and held it close to hers. He wiped a tear from her face and leaned her down close to him. She suddenly felt so much lighter. She looked down at the glass in his hands and the hair that fell to the ground. She gasped and watched as the hair still attached to her head turned brown. She remembered how the mirror broke when she struggled against Jose

The hair that was cut was turning brown as well, making Jose scream. He gathered as much hair as he could to try and save it. He looked in the broken mirror and saw that his complexion was getting wrinkling and older. He also took a look at his hands and found them growing older rapidly.

"No no no no!" He backed up upon realizing that he was growing older. He backed up towards the window and happy managed to trip him, making him fall out of the window. "Lucy!" He screamed once more before turning to dust completely from growing old.

Lucy paid no mind to Jose as she cried in Natsu's chest. His arm went limp from her cheek and it dropped to the floor. "Natsu! Please wake up, please!" She let tears fall from her face as he didn't say a word. "Heal was has been hurt, change the fates design..." She cried and brought his hace to hears, letting a tear fall on his cheek.

Then, the tear seeped into his skin and glowed bright yellow. Light shown throughout his whole body, making Lucy let go of him and look down as the light traveled to his wounds. The wound slowly cleared up and disappeared as if it never happened. Lucy felt immense joy as she watched Natsu stir slightly.

"Mhm, Lucy?" He opened an eye and grinned at her watery smile.

"Oh Natsu, you're alive!" He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her in for a hug. Happy ran up to them and got in on their hug Lucy took happy and hugged him close to her as well. Natsu than ran a hand through her short brown hair with a smile.

"I did a pretty good job huh? I like shorter hair anyway." Lucy giggled and kissed his cheek. "And ya know, I kinda got a thing for brunettes." He finished.

"I don't care about my hair. I'm just glad that you're alive." She pressed her lips against his, making him smile and tangle his hand through her hair when he kissed back. She slowly helped him stand. Happy grabbed both of them by the back of their clothes. He flew out of the window and towards the castle. Lucy looked behind her at the tower, her home. She felt no remorse leaving that tower, only happiness she finally got away.

And her so called father. He may if been a good for nothing creep that kidnapped her as a child, but she did have some good memories with him. She did believe that he loved her in a messed up way, he showed multiple times that he cared about her.

But...she was going to start her new life and not look back

...

Hasty footsteps could be heard throughout the quiet castle. Jude and Layla Heartfilia were busy looking sadly at a picture of their lost child. They missed her so much, she was taken from them at such a young age. Layla shed sad tears and let Jude hold her. That's when the door to their room bursted open.

A royal guard said nothing, but just gave them a look of disbelief. Layla noticed this look immediately ran after the guard. Jude ran slower, not getting his hopes up too high. He knew there were multiple women coming around claiming to be the lost princess. So many came around they passed a law saying whoever posed as the princess would be arrested.

Layla opened the door to the balcony and saw Lucy standing awkwardly in the middle. Natsu and Happy off to the side. Layla and Jude noticed their daughter's appearance and realized that this was their own daughter and not some poser. Layla and Jude let tears fall from their eyes as they embraced Lucy and collapsed in the process.

"Father, mother..." Lucy hugged them tighter, making Natsu and Happy laugh. Jude then found their presence and was the first to stand, letting Layla hug her daughter some more. He walked up to Natsu, scaring him.

"Uh, sorry sir. I-" Jude smiled and placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder.

"Please treat her well." Natsu stopped sputtering.

"Y-Yeah." Jude laughed and walked back to his family and stood them up. Layla then grabbed some of Lucy's hair sadly.

"Honey, your blonde hair..."

"Mama, it's okay. It's just hair." Her mother smiled back at Lucy and then grabbed Natsu's hand and pulled them into the family hug.

"Woah!"

 _Well, you could imagine what happened next._

 _The kingdom rejoiced, for the lost princess had now returned. The party lasted an entire week, and honestly I don't remember much of it._ _Dreams came true all over the place. That Erza chick went on to become the most famous concert pianist in the world, if you can believe it. And_ _that Gray guy? Well, he eventually found true love. As_ _for Warren, well, I assume he's happy. He's never told me otherwise._

 _Thanks to Pantherlilly, crime in the kingdom disappeared almost overnight..._ _as did most of the kiwis. Happy–never_ _changed. At_ _last, Lucy was home and she finally had a real family. She was a Princess worth waiting for. Beloved by all, she led her kingdom with all the grace and wisdom that her parents did before her. And_ _as for me, well, I started going by Natsu again._

 _Stopped thieving and basically turned it all around, but I know what the big question is, hah. Did_ _Lucy and I ever get married? Well I am pleased to tell you that after years and years of asking, and asking, and asking, I finally said yes._

 _"Natsu"_

 _"All right, I asked her."_

 _"And we're living happily ever after."_

 _"Yes we are."_

* * *

 **I finally finished this after about a week and a half. I'm so proud of this to be totally honest. I usually don't have much commitment when it comes to tasks that take as long as this. I just really wanted to do this au though. Of course, not all of this is just from memory, i had to look up a few things to actually finish** **the thing. Thank you all for reading and I'm so glad if you enjoyed it.**


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